Bonneville
The first Pontiac Bonneville in 1957 was mainly a dealer promotion car, highlighting Pontiac's new high performance image. It was a big and flashy convertible powered by a V8 engine that generated 310 horsepower. Only 630 Bonnevilles were built in that year. In 1958, the Bonneville debuted, including two hardtops and a convertible in the lineup. A standard four-barrel V8 engine that generated 260 or 300 hp powers them. Standard features in these models include a deluxe steering wheel, chrome wheel discs and special upholstery. Electromatic radio, air suspension and bucket seats were also available. There is also the Rochester Fuel Injection as an optional feature.

Corvair
The history of the Corvair starts when VWs started to be imported in larger and larger numbers during the mid '50s. At that time Chevrolet offered "full size Chevys", trucks and the Corvette-period. They wanted to offer "compact" cars by 1960 (as did just about every other manufacturer once they heard Chevy was coming out with a compact). Chevy may not have "copied" the VW but many of the basics of the air cooled rear engine, compact transaxle and suspension were similar; however,the Corvair was larger, inside and outside and was an "American size compact". The Corvair would represent several production firsts for Chevy including: their first (only) rear air cooled engine, first unitized body, first production car turbo, and fully independent suspension for each wheel-front and rear.

Dart
Introduction: The Dart was Dodge's entry in the growing compact market. Introduced in 1960, the first generation Dodge Dart was actually just a small fullsize car. It was "reborn" in 1963 as a true compact. The Dart lineup would continue to evolve, and included Demon and Swinger models as well as the Dodge Sport and the mighty Dart GTS. The all new Dodge Dart switched to a 111 inch wheelbase and replaced the Lancer GT as Dodge's sporty compact. The styling penned by Elwood Engle had a minimum of fussiness. The GT represented the top performing trim level, although the lack of a V8 was a puzzling omission for a "performance" car. The Dodge Dart was available as either a hardtop or convertible. Both had styling that featured prominent headlight bezels that protruded slightly from the fenders and grille, creating a look that resembled the Chrysler Turbine car. Styling was generally clean and smooth, with a thick angled rear pillar.

Edsel
By 1954, Ford planners decided to enter the mid-priced car field, with a machine in the $2,400 to $3,600 range, above their lower-priced Fords and between their Mercurys and Lincolns. It was a sensible idea. The American economy was booming, and the automobile industry was selling nearly 7 million cars a year. Ford named its experimental concept "Edsel," or "E Car," after Henry Ford II's father. It ultimately managed to retain the original name, even after everyone from office boys to motivational analysts to hired poets had thought up over 6,000 possible names for it.
For a year prior to its introduction, no specific details about the car or clear pictures of it were released to the public. In the tons of advertisements which began flooding the country, the potential buyers saw only gauzy shadows or a fabric-covered shape, but never the car itself. All they were told was that it was something new--and from Ford! It was as if the company were trying to build some sort of secret weapon to capture the market, as the Model T had done 50 years before.

Fairlane
The Ford Fairlane was produced by the Ford motor company from 1955 through 1969. The original body design was the full sized Ford body which started out as a family vehicle and slowly evolved into many different available models and body styles. The exterior paint and trim options, seemed endless with elaborate cloth woven seat covers and a rainbow of paint combinations, you could virtually have any variety of Fairlane your heart desired. Variety was big in the early days which makes these cars somewhat more difficult to restore but all the more interesting to the collector. From 1955 through 1959 the Fairlanes were big and bold. The 1957 introduced the very popular convertibles and retractables with folding tops into the trunk. These cars were available with a handful of engine options to include, the 223, 292, 332, and the powerful 352 Thunderbird V-8 with 300 horsepower.

Gremlin
Has everyone heard the story about the birth of the Gremlin? Hereâ€™s the way I heard it: One day in 1966, AMC Design Chief Richard Teague was on a commercial airline flight to Detroit mulling over ideas for the â€˜new waveâ€™ of subcompact cars that the Big Four were planning to compete with the VW Bug. The VW had proven that a new generation of Americans had a keen interest in a low-cost, economical automobile that still retained a degree of â€˜styleâ€™ that would be attractive to young buyers. American Motorsâ€™ then current economy entry, the Rambler American, had no real youth appeal at all, and the design (as well as the â€˜Ramblerâ€™ nameplate itself) was due to be phased out by 1970. Plans were already underway to replace the stodgy Rambler with an all-new compact car, which was then being designed using elements of the â€˜Vixenâ€™ and â€˜Cavalierâ€™ design exercises that had already been shown to the public. But the new car, which would eventually debut as the Hornet, was a compact, not a subcompact. AMC still needed a price leader.

HUMMER
In 1979 the Army was looking for a new High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). AM General competed in the development of a vehicle to meet the standards of the military. The prototype HUMVEE was created. After 50,000 miles of extensive, repetitive testing, it was decided that the HUMVEE was the best vehicle for the job. In 1983 the U.S. Army awarded a $1.2 billion contract to AM General for 55,000 HUMVEES. Production began on a vehicle dubbed the HUMMER M998. In 1992 a civilian model was introduced.

Impala
The Chevrolet Impala was, through 1996, a full-sized automobile built by General Motors for their Chevrolet division. The Impala was reintroduced in 2000 as a full-size front-wheel-drive car. Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer in the late 1950s, defined the Impala as a "prestige car within the reach of the average American citizen."
From 1958 until 1965, the Impala was Chevrolet's most expensive full-size car. In 1965, Chevrolet introduced the more-expensive Caprice.
In the late sixties, the Impala was typically positioned just below the top luxury trim, the Caprice, and above the more economical models like the Biscayne or the Bel Air. The Impala, named for a southern African antelope, is most readily distinguished by a pair of three rather than two taillights at its rear. It competed in the market against other full-size cars such as the Ford Galaxie 500 and the Plymouth Fury.

Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of Chrysler. It is the oldest sport utility vehicle (SUV) brand, with Land Rover coming in a close second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4 wheel drive car of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar period. Many vehicles serving similar military and civilian roles have since been created by many nations. There are many explanations of the origin of the word "jeep," which have proven difficult to verify. Probably the most popular notion holds that the vehicle bore the designation "GP" (for "Gov. Purposes" or "General Purpose"), which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep.

K-Car
The K car was a truly remarkable car. The platform used in the design gave way to almost all of the designs used by Chrysler in the 80â€™s. The Dodge Daytona and Chryslers new minivan were direct descendants of the K car platform. The Voyager and Caravan combined with K car sales pulled the company to solvency. K cars were also transformed into, of all things, Executive Sedans and Limousines, and the military, and local police departments used them as patrol cars. The original 2.2-liter motor was also the foundation for many of Chryslerâ€™s performance models developed in the 80â€™s. With the addition of a turbo, and later, an intercooled turbo, the cars these engines were placed in became potent little drivers, competing with the likes of the Camaro, Mustang, and Trans-Am. Even the Caravan/Voyager received the benefit of
the turbo-charged engines.All in all, The K car is often demonized, and certainly not thought of as â€œrevolutionaryâ€

Exactly! Non car people will never understand. I've been a gearhead since I was a little kid, always own at least six vehicles, can assemble a small-block Chevy in my sleep, and could have written better descriptions and histories of those vehicles without looking anything up. You can't walk through my garage because of all the tools, machinery, engines, etc.

Although Gyre's right, all anyone will remember is A, B, C, D, etc... even us gearheads!

GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."